So ancient was Totemism in Egypt that the Totems of the human Mothers
had become the signs of Goddesses, in whom the head of the beast was
blended with the figure of the human female. The Totems of the human
Mothers had attained the highest status as Totems of a Motherhood that
was held to be divine, the Motherhood in Nature which was elemental in
its origin. --from "Totemism, Tattoo and Fetishism as Forms of Sign
Language" It goes unappreciated by modern Egyptologists, but it is
embraced by those who savor the concept of a "hidden history" of
humanity, and those who approach all human knowledge from the
perspective of the esoteric. Gerard Massey's massive Ancient Egypt: The
Light of the World--first published in 1907 and the crowning achievement
of the self-taught scholar--redefines the roots of Christianity via
Egypt, proposing that Egyptian mythology was the basis for Jewish and
Christian beliefs. Here, Cosimo proudly presents Book 2 of Ancient
Egypt, in which Massey reads the prehistoric story of human civilization
that can be studied in the language of ceremonial rites, ancient
customs, and ritual dance, and consequently explores the resultant
concept that religion evolved out of expressions of human fertility and
sexuality--particularly as embodied in the primeval symbols of blood,
sacrifice, and motherhood--and formed the first influences on
Judeo-Christianity. Peculiar and profound, this work will intrigue and
delight readers of history, religion, and mythology. British author
GERALD MASSEY (1828-1907) published works of poetry, spiritualism,
Shakespearean criticism, and theology, but his best-known works are in
the realm of Egyptology, including A Book of the Beginnings and The
Natural Genesis.
